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Ward Hadaway advises on major sale of international publishing company

The Yorkshire Corporate team at law firm Ward Hadaway has provided legal advice on the sale of publishing company Wichtig International to SAGE Publishing – the international independent academic publisher.

Based in Cheshire, with a subsidiary in Italy, Wichtig International publishes journals on bioengineering and clinical medicine. The company, which was originally set up 40 years ago in Italy by nephrologist Diego Brancaccio, supplies medical journals to its global client base.

US head-quartered SAGE will now add Wichtig to its expanding and diverse portfolio that also includes digital products, library products and reference books.

SAGE was founded in 1965 and is a leading provider of innovative, high-quality content spanning a wide range of subject areas across the humanities, social sciences, science, technology, engineering and medical sectors.

Under the terms of the sale, the business will commence publishing a portfolio of medical titles previously published by Wichtig in January 2018.

Ward Hadaway, a leading UK Top 100 law firm, first acted for Wichtig in 2015.

Legal advice and negotiations on the transaction were led by Corporate Partner Gavin Maddison who was assisted by Associate, Catherine Hinchliffe and Solicitor, Kate McLean at Ward Hadaway’s office in Leeds.

Gavin said: “We’ve worked with the team at Wichtig now for a number of years and are delighted to have been able to provide legal support to enable the sale to progress. We provided timely and strategic advice tailored to the demands of the sale.

“One of the most crucial elements of any deal is timing and speed of turnaround – this was certainly the case with Wichtig. We had a two-month timeframe to work to and achieve this deal.”

Director of Wichtig International Limited, John Hartup, said: “From the start of negotiations, it was clear that SAGE wanted to invest in the business for all the right reasons. My thanks go to Gavin and the team at Ward Hadaway for their expertise and efforts on the negotiations. Having people who know your business well and who you can trust to deliver the right advice at the right time is so important.

“The team at Ward Hadaway provided a strategic and professional service from the outset and we are very pleased that the sale has gone so smoothly.”